Continued Outrage at Neglect and Abuse in New York Nursing Home

Outrage continues to grow at the poor quality of care being delivered at a New York nursing home. According to an investigation by News10NBC, Sodus Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Sodus, New York is still violating numerous state regulations about the treatment of its senior citizens. The local news agency began investigating Sodus Rehab several years ago and, unfortunately, it does not appear that the quality of care has improved over time. According to the New York Department of Health, the nursing home received 90 citations for health and safety violations in just the last four years. In New York, the average number of violations per nursing home is approximately 30.

After undercover investigations by News10NBC last year showed unsafe and unsanitary conditions, Sodus Rehab says they “cleaned house” and brought in new administrators. Unfortunately, the new staffers do not appear to have fixed any of the nursing home’s problems. In one particularly egregious example cited by the news, Bill Tanner, a nursing home resident with leukemia, dementia and “other health issues,” developed bedsores that one doctor described as “some of the worst” he had ever seen. Bedsores, also called pressure ulcers, could have been easily prevented in Tanner, according to the doctors. Perhaps even more horrifically, the bedsores were only noticed because a former neighbor visiting Tanner noticed a foul smell in the room. According to the neighbor, she asked for a registered nurse and a licensed practical nurse to attend to the elderly man. Sodus Rehab staff said that neither was on-duty at the time.

Thankfully, the neighbor kept pushing staffers to help identify the source of the putrid smell. When Tanner was finally rolled over, photographs taken by the neighbor show deep, open sores. Tanner was immediately admitted into the hospital and doctors say that waiting much longer would have likely been fatal for the elderly man. Tanner remains in the hospital in critical condition.

Sodus Rehab declined to comment to NBC about the story, citing patient confidentiality laws. Although Tanner’s former neighbor did say that last summer when she raised concerns about news articles on the nursing home’s poor care, staffers shrugged off her worries and said local news stations had a “vendetta” against the senior living facility. The New York Department of Health also declined to comment and instead provided a hotline to report nursing home abuse in the state.